An extremely moving account of the lonely life of the unloved and tragic genius - described as "the greatest modern Italian poet"
'Love me, by God; I need love, love, love, fire, enthusiasm, life. The world does not seem made for me'
Giacomo Leopardi, considered the greatest Italian poet since Dante, was one of the most radical thinkers of the nineteenth century. He also regarded himself one of the most miserable and unfortunate people to have lived.
Born to strict parents in a provincial town in 1798, he had a lonely childhood, and he spent his time largely in his father's library. He suffered from a debilitating illness, and his short life was full of pain. But this pain and misery gave rise to some of the most intense and brilliant poems ever written in the Italian language.
In this poetic biography, Iris Origo, author of the bestselling War in Val d'Orcia traces the short and lonely life of this conflicted poet. Written with generosity and understanding, A Study in Solitude is a sharp, moving portrait of a frail and frustrated genius.
Iris Origo (1902-1988) was a British-born biographer and writer. She lived in Italy and devoted much of her life to the improvement of the Tuscan estate at La Foce, which she purchased with her husband in the 1920s. During WWII, she sheltered refugee children and assisted many escaped Allied prisoners of war and partisans in defiance of Italy's fascist regime and Nazi occupation forces. Pushkin Press also publishes her war diaries, War in Val d'Orcia, her memoir, Images and Shadows, as well as another of her biographies, The Last Attachment.
About the Author :
Iris Origo (1902-1988) was a British-born biographer and writer. She lived in Italy and devoted much of her life to the improvement of the Tuscan estate at La Foce, which she purchased with her husband in the 1920s. During the Second World War, she sheltered refugee children and assisted many escaped Allied prisoners of war and partisans in defiance of Italy's fascist regime and Nazi occupation forces. Pushkin Press also publishes her bestselling diaries, War in Val d'Orcia, her memoir, Images and Shadows, and The Last Attachment: The Story of Byron and Teresa Guiccioli. The newly discovered diary covering the years 1939-1940, A Chill in the Air, is forthcoming from Pushkin Press.
Review :
Origo evokes the bittersweet, unlived life with... sympathy and clarity
In her biographies she was able to write precisely on the cusp between the two cultures, turning her work into a bridge of interpretation and understanding
A meticulous and at times inspired biographer
Sympathetic and discerning, devoted to her subject yet recognising his considerable faults of character, expert at sifting evidence and settling old controversies, she is the ideal biographer
A sublime wordsmith and an astute and passionate observer of human behavior
One of Leopardi's most perceptive biographies
Origo was a remarkable writer, with a clear, engaging style, a mind steeped in history and scholarship, but alive always to the nuances and subtleties of human relationships. The hope is that [Pushkin's republication of her work] bring her a new generation of readers
